"A guided tour of your deepest fears
Designed to help you vision clear
We'll depart from here"

• 20Nov 08

  For Now And Ever

  There can only be so many truly exquisite games. Games that represent all you want from gaming, games that are the pinnacles of their respective genres, games that are resistant to that harsh test we know as time, games that evoke a smile and many fond memories.

  As you may or may not know, in my case, the number of games in that category was six. Yes, you heard that right. Was. As in, you know, past tense. I have decided to induct a seventh title into an extremely exclusive posh crowd. Excited yet? Here it is, the seventh game I deemed worthy of a 10:

  

  I've had a huge battle inside my head for about a year now concerning the status of The Orange Box. Is it a game comprised of several different components that still create a rather consistent whole? Just a compilation and each title should stand on its own? How the hell do you rate it? Throughout the past year, I've argued both cases with people in the forums - but like I said, the main argument was the one in my head.

  Well, I finally decided that it is not a game on its own since all of its components proved that they can and do stand all on their own. Not only that, but they do so brilliantly. Half-Life 2: Episode Two is an awesome installment to the best FPS series of all time, Portal is a unique, innovative and hilarious masterpiece and Team Fortress 2...Team Fortress 2 owns.

  It is a multiplayer game that made a rabid, anti-social single-player gamer not only give it a look, not just try it out, not just like it, not just have fun with it - but introduced him to a completely different gaming experience. Seriously, I don't care about multiplayer. You'll never convince me to even try a session of Counter-Strike, Call of Duty or Gears of War. I just don't give a ****. Team Fortress 2 on the other hand, had it all - a wonderful art-styIe, awesome characters, insane amounts of polish and balance and--and this is what it truly excels at--teamwork. The cIasses gave loads of gameplay variety, the goal-oriented teamwork paved the way for awesome battle scenarios and the fantastic community provided a bottomless amount of maps, mods, servers and everything in-between.

  I love this game.

  • Posted Nov 20, 2008 1:25 pm PT
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• 15Nov 08

  I Got Your Back

  I've been playing a whole bunch of Left 4 Dead. I love it. And that's just the demo. I have the game pre-purchased and pre-loaded on Steam, all I have to wait is for Valve to unlock it. I haven't been this blown away by a game since last year's Team Fortress 2 and I really don't consider myself a multiplayer gamer at all. Ordinary deathmatches just don't keep my attention for long. So what is it about Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead that I cannot get enough of? In a word - teamwork.

  Both games demand heavy effort from each player to do what's best for the team, not yourself. A team of average players playing as a team will steamroll a team of superb players with no teamwork in Team Fortress 2. Every. Single. Time. In Left 4 Dead you can be the best player on Earth, but sooner or later you're going to get pounced on by a Hunter, rolled in by a Smoker or instantly incapacitated by a Witch and no amount of skill will help you if you haven't got a buddy to get you up.

  Deathmatch can be fun, but it doesn't even come close to the feeling of being on a real team in a game where 'team' isn't just a catchphrase - but rather the entire point. So yeah, if you're a single-player guy like myself who just can't get into multiplayer whether it's Counter-Strike or Halo, I urge you to try these games. You may find that you've been trying out the wrong kind of multiplayer.

  • Posted Nov 15, 2008 8:41 am PT
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• 2Nov 08

  Reflections: September/October

  Welcome to another edition of my feature where I'll round up the games/music/movies I've been indulging in for the past month. Let's just get right into it.

  Games

  

  • Team Fortress 2
  • Publisher: Valve Software
  • Developer: Valve Software

  I haven't played Team Fortress 2 in a while now, but I'm sure I played it in September at least a few times.

   

   

   

  

  • The Sims 2 (including Nightlife, Pets and Seasons)
  • Publisher: Electronic Arts
  • Developer: Electronic Arts

  Played a whole lot of this in September. 55 hours, in fact. Still plan to go back to it someday. [Screens]

   

   

   

  

  • Crysis
  • Publisher: Electronic Arts
  • Developer: Crytek

  Replayed Crysis on my new rig, maxed out. I had an even better time with it than last year since it looked better, but more importantly, ran smooth as butter.

   

   

   

  

  • Dead or Alive 4
  • Publisher: Tecmo
  • Developer: Team Ninja

  This is the first thing I popped into my new Xbox 360. Big fan of the series, in fact, this is basically the only fighting game I could ever really get into. Accessible yet deep. Also, hot chicks. Unlocked all the characters, now it's time for the costumes. I will say that Alpha-152 is pathetic and the requirement to unlock the unlockable characters' costumes is insane. Beating Alpha 2 out of 3 times with Nicole? Yeah, right. Not gonna happen. And whose bright idea was it to remove the easy difficulty?

   

  

  • Forza Motorsport 2
  • Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
  • Developer: Turn 10

  I'm in the middle of the Career mode - level 20-something. It's a great game with loads of modes, cars and stuff, but really there's barely any progression from the original game. 90% of the tracks are recycled and they even managed to remove Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo leaving New York as the only city track. As much as I am enjoying the game (and it is delightfully addictive like its predecessor), I still cannot escape the feeling that minimal effort went into this which is extremely disappointing.

   

  That's it for this edition. Hope you guys enjoyed it. If you haven't already, check out these games, leave comments, and take it easy. This is UpInFlames, signing off.

  • Posted Nov 2, 2008 8:20 am PT
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